Plain-English guides on getting paid on time in the UK — late payment law, the Construction Act, VAT, Making Tax Digital and accounting software. Every figure is taken from the legislation, GOV.UK or the official source, and cited at the end of each article.
Accounting software
A practical, vendor-neutral way to compare UK accounting software: Making Tax Digital compatibility, bank feeds, invoicing, CIS, your accountant's preference and open APIs for connected apps.
Making Tax Digital
Sole traders and landlords over £50,000 joined Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in April 2026, with £30,000 in 2027 and £20,000 in 2028. Thresholds, quarterly updates and choosing software.
Artificial intelligence
How AI is used to chase late invoices, predict slow payers and read remittances — and the UK GDPR rules on automated decisions that every small business using it should know.
Accounting software
What accounting software must handle for a UK construction business: CIS deductions and monthly returns, the VAT domestic reverse charge, retentions and Construction Act payment notices.
VAT
The UK will require all VAT invoices to be issued as e-invoices from 2029. What the government has confirmed, what is still to come, and how to prepare your accounting software.
Making Tax Digital
Every VAT-registered business must keep digital records and file VAT Returns through compatible software. What MTD for VAT requires, what a digital link is, and how to check your software.
Accounting software
How credit control apps connect to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent through OAuth, which data they read, who is responsible for it under UK GDPR, and how to disconnect.
Artificial intelligence
Customers now ask AI assistants which supplier, accountant or software to use. How Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT search and Perplexity find web pages, and what a UK small business can do to be cited.
Construction tax
How the Construction Industry Scheme works for UK contractors and subcontractors: deduction rates, what they apply to, monthly returns and the tests for gross payment status.
VAT
How the VAT domestic reverse charge works for UK building and construction services: the conditions, end user and intermediary exclusions, and how to invoice correctly.
Credit control
The aged debtors (aged receivables) report in Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or FreeAgent shows who owes you and for how long. How to read it, and the right action at 30, 60 and 90+ days overdue.
VAT
The details every UK invoice needs, the full list for a VAT invoice from HMRC Notice 700/21, when a simplified VAT invoice is allowed, and the small additions that get you paid faster.
VAT
If a customer does not pay, you can reclaim the VAT you already paid HMRC once the debt is over six months overdue. The conditions from VAT Notice 700/18, time limits, and the cash accounting alternative.
Accounting software
The official retention periods for UK business records — six years for limited companies, five years after the Self Assessment deadline for sole traders, six years for VAT — and what to keep.
Credit control
Large UK companies must publish how quickly they pay suppliers. How to use the government's payment practices service and Companies House to check a customer before you take on the work.
Late payment law
What the government's 'Time to pay up' reforms and the Commercial Payments Bill mean for UK small businesses: a 60-day cap on payment terms, mandatory statutory interest, dispute deadlines and a stronger Small Business Commissioner.
Retentions
The UK government plans to ban cash retentions in construction contracts. What the Commercial Payments Bill proposes, the transition period, the likely timeline and what to do with retentions held today.
Late payment law
Late Payment Act interest is 8% plus the Bank of England reference rate — 11.75% for debts overdue in 2026. The formula, fixed compensation of £40 to £100 and a worked example.
Construction Act
How the Construction Act Payment Notice (5 days) and Pay Less Notice (7 days) deadlines work, what happens when a payer misses them, and how the notified sum becomes payable in full.
Construction Act
Under section 108 of the Construction Act, either party to a construction contract can refer a dispute to adjudication at any time and get a decision within 28 days. How it works, who it covers and the right to suspend work.